Welcome -- and I hope no one was hurt in the accident. What is the "usual" price? It's only been recently that many people quit paying sticker price or higher for the car. Your handle ("organic_smallhome") indicates that you're willing to pay more for something you perceive as "greener" (that's not a slam, BTW; I do that, too). But what are your goals in buying a Prius? Lowest possible tailpipe emissions or carbon footprint? Fuel economy? Something else? Are you planning to drive the car into the ground or hold onto it for several years before trading for the next advance in "green" technology? Fact of the matter is that you can get a better deal than a Prius for a lot less money. If you're after fuel economy and interior room, you could buy one of the larger GM models (Chevy Impala, Buick LaCrosse) and get an honest close-to-30 mpg highway (hybrids are notorious for not hitting their EPA numbers) in a car that's cheap to insure and fix. If you're after pure mileage, you could go for a Honda Civic (which is now the size of the "old" Accord) or Fit, or the Toyota Yaris or Corolla and get 85-90% of the mileage of a Prius without the purchase price and the expensive maintenance. If you're really concerned about the carbon footprint, you'll go for the Civic or Corolla (both manufactured in North America) or -- even better -- a good-quality used version of either. Keep in mind that the Prius contains two drive systems (electrical and gasoline-powered) and lots of complicated electronics to make everything work. To Toyota's credit, it works well and Toyota has effectively mass-marketed a new technology without much of a hitch. (I know, Honda was first with its Insight, but it didn't sell like the Prius has.) However, most aftermarket service facilities and parts vendors don't yet see enough of a market to invest in equipment almost exclusively for the Prius, so you will be back to the dealer (at dealer labor rates) for all but the most routine parts and maintenance. And the battery pack is still a huge question mark -- how long will it last in real life? How much will it cost to replace? What will a Prius be worth without a good battery pack? In addition to the extra money it costs for all the pieces-parts, you're gambling some money on future repairability and resale value. Hope that helps....

Without first hearing the noise myself, and then working through every step required to understand exactly what the sound is, there is really no way to know if what you can hear is a problem or not. When mechanical things are doing their jobs, its not beyond reason for there to be some sound associated with fluid movements, solenoids opening and closing, and any other operation of a motor or whatever. It many times can come down to a very subjective judgment whether a given sound, although potentially unpleasant is an indication that there is something wrong. The worst thing any tech could do right now, without complete knowledge of whether this really is a problem or not would actually be to attempt to fix it. If it really isn't a problem, and the sound is in fact normal and the tech does try to fix it, then he/she is going to replace parts that aren't bad, and the noise will still be there. Worse than that, if they try and fix something that isn't really broke three times, especially if it is related to the brakes, then you would in fact fall under the lemon law, because of the three failed attempts to repair. Keep in mind also that attempting to fix something that actually isn't broke is another way to convince you that there is genuinely something wrong with the car as well. That's not going to be productive for anyone. I know I have ruffled a few feathers through the years as I take on questions such as yours. You ask if they are giving you the run around. Seriously if they were, what would they have to gain? Techs normally work under a system called flat rate. They are allowed just so many minutes to diagnose a problem, and then each individual repair has "allegedly" been time studied, and the techs pay for replacing a part, such as the brake controller on your car is a fixed amount. Manufacturers are good at having parts like that brake controller returned and if they tear it apart and don't find anything actually wrong with it, they will back flag the dealership, who in turn will take that time back off of the tech. In short this means if they blindly just throw a brake controller at this, not only might the car not be fixed, the tech could actually not be paid for replacing it. Rest assured no one, not Toyota, the dealer, nor the tech, wish for you to have a problem with the car. If there is a problem they will once identified fix it, but first they have to identify it. With every model there is a learning curve and lets take your car as an example. It could easily be the only car exhibiting a sound as you are describing right now. Many times at the dealer level with cars under two years old, they rely on the fact that the same things happen to the majority of the fleet. That's why the diagnostics can be done in such a short period of time, say 12 to 18 minutes. Then along comes a car that is not playing by the rules, in essence yours, and they don't really have a good way to deal with it and be productive. In fact, if a tech was to take your car, and spend all of the time necessary to figure out precisely whats going on, not only would it be likely he/she would not be paid for the time that they spend. I can show you where techs that actually would make a habit of spending that kind of time eventually lose their jobs because management will sit up in the office and see how many hours the people are turning, and someone will be clocking fewer paid hours, the one that chases all of the ghosts and nightmares! So to that end, now you see a little deeper inside the dealer, here's how to make their natural weakness not effect your satisfaction with your car. First, they need a set of ears that have positively identified where the sound is coming from. They need to be able to reproduce the sound, almost at will and with a little effort you can accomplish both of these steps. Realize what I am saying, your not doing their job for them, you are empowered to help them solve a possible problem with your car. The next time your car is making the noise predictably, get them on the phone and let them know your coming in right then, and you expect someone to take a look before the sound goes and hides again. Stay with your car while this step is performed. In all likelihood you know exactly what to do to make the car create the sound, the tech can then move around listening to it to help verify the source. From there all you can do is let them do what they can. You might have to accept that the sound is not an indication that something is wrong, and if this was a "normal" car and not so quiet because the engine isn't running when you are stopped it may easily be drowned out by other typical sounds. Realize the old adage might just fit here. "If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it".

kwsl, I agree that they are often guilty of not doing a very good job with larger women (or should we say average women?) And I also think that often times they treat all larger women as though they have the same body types. What a mistake. Proportion is so important, no matter what you weigh. At 115 or 185, a woman will still have best features, and things she wants to de-emphasize. And while "ideal weight" women can look good in a wide variety of styles, I believe there are styles and patterns, etc. that are the most flattering, and that this is true of them even if they gain a substantial amount of weight. I am close to my ideal weight, but even when I was very young and in great shape my torso length was short, my shoulders were narrow (as was my waist), and my thighs were larger than proportional to the rest of me. Needless to say that leggings and boxy tops were not a good look at any point in time for me. And now with a couple of extra pounds, I look best in boot cut jeans, darker tops that fit close to the body and go in at the waist, and in nothing that shows any thigh.

It could absolutely be mold. Check the usual suspects... windows, bathrooms, ducting and roofing. If you still can’t locate a source, see about getting testing done and try getting it identified. Is there a basement or crawlspace underneath? Could there be critters in the attic? Hope you find the source.